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TheCityUK responds to ECJ ruling on clearing houses

Chris Cummings, Chief Executive of TheCityUK said:

The UK Government was right to bring a legal challenge against the ECB’s policy to bring euro clearing houses into the Eurozone. The ability to bring these challenges is a legitimate option for all Member States and demonstrates the strength of the system. Given London, as Europe’s financial centre, clears more euro-denominated transactions than anywhere in the EU, today’s ruling by the ECJ is a good outcome for Europe.

The ECJ’s ruling helps preserve the integrity of the Single Market and the principle of non-discrimination. At a time when the European Commission is focused on building a Capital Markets Union for the EU28, it will be important to continue this focus on how we can join our markets together so that financial services end users benefit from increased choice and competition.

As the Eurozone integrates further, the EU will need to reform itself to ensure that improvements to the Eurozone’s economic governance do not inadvertently fragment the Single Market. The Bank of England has worked hard to ensure a close partnership with the ECB and we want to see this continued, including through agreements on the provision of liquidity.

What politicians should focus on is making significant progress on the EU jobs and growth agenda – creating jobs, driving economic growth and improving the competitiveness of Europe in world markets. Financial services have a key role to play in helping to deliver this.